HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY JUICE FROM VEGETABLES
Guest Post
Produced by blending one single fruit or vegetable or by blending a mixture, juices are no doubt very refreshing when consumed. Apart from the exciting and satisfying feeling one gets, juicing also has many other benefits.
For example, it is well-known that a good way to lose weight and cleanse one’s body is through juicing. In fact, juices are recommended by medical experts for the treatment of certain diseases. Once in the body, juice gets absorbed quickly and your body would digest it without much energy.
As far as juicing is concerned, a lot of people like fruit juices. This may not be unconnected with the fact that juicing fruit is popular and fruit juices are sold in large quantities in most shops and supermarkets. One thing you need to know is that vegetable juices are also very tasty and also beneficial.
From vegetable juices you get a lot of nutrients, vitamins, enzymes, water, and minerals. Juices extracted from vegetables also provide energy and reduces the acidic contents of one’s body. When you blend and consume raw fresh vegetables, you can be sure that your nutrition will receive a boost.
Now that you have an idea of the pleasure and benefits you can derive from vegetable juices, we’ll highlight some of the vegetables you can juice, and how you can get the best benefit from them.
Which Vegetables Can I Juice?
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Tomato
Tomato is a vegetable that is readily available in most places. It has antioxidants which help to cleanse the body system and keeps one fresh. The antioxidants also prevents the growth of some cancer diseases such as testicular cancer.
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Spinach
Spinach is very rich in Vitamins (A, K, E,C, B2,B6). It also has calcium, fibers, iron, copper, zinc and potassium. Spinach is loaded with a lot of nutrients which will benefit your body when taken as juice.
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Carrot
Carrot is a sweet vegetable which has a full load of beta-carotene and vitamin A. The juice is very beneficial to the human body.
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Cabbage
Cabbage helps to cleanse the body, fight cancer and stomach challenges such as ulcers. It also has nutrients which help in regulating the metabolism of the body. Cabbage is rich in folic acid, vitamins (K, C,), calcium and anti-oxidants. This makes it very good for your health.
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Broccoli
This vegetable has chlorophyll, vitamin C and antioxidants. When juiced and consumed, it can prevent cancer diseases and lung problems. It also supplies insulin and helps to regulate the blood sugar level in one’s body.
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Sweet Potato
Sweet Potato contains nutritious benefits that fight arthritis and some other inflammatory conditions. The juice would supply Vitamins, copper, manganese and iron to a person’s body.
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Celery
Celery helps to expel acidic contents from the body. It is high in potassium which can help to reduce blood pressure. Celery also get rids of bloating in the body system and would make a great juice.
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Parsley
Parsley is a vegetable that is high in chlorophyll. It helps to treat kidney issues by cleansing the liver. It equally lends support to the heart and its juice can boost one’s energy level.
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Dandelion
Dandelion is also a very good source of chlorophyll and helps the liver, kidney and pancreas. It also serves as a bowel cleanser while providing remedy for diabetes and anemia.
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Beetroot
Beetroot is indeed full of nutrients. Some of which are potassium, phosphorous, calcium and sodium. Others are iron, copper, zinc and selenium. When one takes beetroot juice, it helps to lower blood pressure and improves the flow of blood especially to the brain. This vegetable juice also helps to get rid of cholesterol. For pregnant women, it has folic acid which is highly necessary for pregnancy.
Now that you know some of the vegetables you can juice, let us go on to examine how to make healthy juice from vegetables
Considerations in making healthy juice from vegetables
There are number of things you must consider when you want to make a healthy juice. Some of them are:
- Before you start, make sure you have all the tools you need such as scissors, strainer, cup, containers and of course your vegetables.
- Make sure you wash the vegetables properly: This is fundamental because once dirt is allowed into the body through unwashed vegetables, it can cause a lot of health challenges due to the bacteria present in unwashed fruits. An easy and non-toxic way to clean your fruits and vegetables is by soaking or rinsing them with 3% Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide which kills bad bacteria without imparting chemical residue.
- Cut your vegetable(s) into smaller pieces: Although this may not be compulsory for all vegetables, it will be necessary for big-sized vegetables to allow your juicers blend them easily. You may just skip this step if your vegetables are already cut to size.
- You will need to pour clean water into your juicer or blender or start with a vegetable like tomato which has water. This liquid is to prevent the vegetables from sticking to the container.
- Now go ahead to put the leaves in to the juicer in little measure. As soon as the leaves are cut-up, you may increase the speed of your juicer.
- Allow the mixture blend for about three minutes and add more water if necessary.
- Place a strainer on another container and pour your mixture into it. Should you prefer your juice to be thicker and to contain more fiber, please skip this step.
- Pour your mixture into a cup; consume immediately or refrigerate as you wish.
- You may store in a refrigerator, fridge, or even a correct temperature.
- Clean up your juicer in preparation for another time.
- Note that for strong vegetables like carrot and soft vegetables like cucumber, a masticating juicer would get the job done quicker and easily.
- You may need to blend the softer vegetable before the hard ones because the hard ones would push the softer while blending.
- Consider buying XYZ Juicer because it is durable, affordable and reliable
- Avoid using fibers when you juice vegetables.
Recipe of Some Vegetable Juices
In the next few lines, we shall practically examine how to make healthy juices from vegetables while giving you recipes and steps.
- Carrot Juice
This is very easy to make and you will need the following ingredients:
- Pieces of carrots which should be properly washed and peeled.
- Peeled lemon
- Apple
- Other green leafs such as lettuce
Once you have the ingredients above, put in your juicer, mix and consume immediately.
- Tomato Juice
Tomato juice is also very easy to prepare once you get the following ingredients.
- Tomatoes preferably chopped
- Cucumber
- Pepper
- Sea salt
- Celery
Put the celery, cucumber and tomatoes in a juicer and juice. You may also use a blender with high speed. Once you have your mixture, you may want to add a little onion, pepper and salt
- Spinach Juice
Spinach juice is quite tasty and soft. To make it, you need the following ingredients:
- Spinach
- Apple
- Peeled lemon which is optional.
- With all the above ingredients properly washed, pour into a juicer, mix and enjoy your juice. You may choose not to add the lemon.
- Cabbage Juice
Experts have noted that a good way to get the best from cabbage is to juice it and not eat it. This is because when cooked, some of its nutrients are lost and it becomes less effective.
With cabbage juice, you may need to add some other vegetables like carrot. This is because the taste might be too strong if you are not used to it.
CONCLUSION
Juicing is good and has many advantages. Vegetable juicing is indeed beneficial, refreshing and cool if you know how to make healthy juices from vegetables especially at home.
With all that we have explained in this article, nothing should stop you from getting to the market to buy fresh vegetables and juice all the way.